Greenbrier Hotel Heads to Auction Block, Senate Candidate Justice Blames Politics

Posted on: August 1, 2024, 02:56h. 

Last updated on: August 1, 2024, 02:56h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

The Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. is in default and could be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The property is home to one of the state’s four casinos.

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West Virginia GOv. Jim Justice outside his Greenbrier Hotel. He said foreclosure on the property is a political stunt. (Image: Dan Beiser/USA Today)

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) — the frontrunner in the state’s US Senate race — said the foreclosure is political stunt by JP Morgan Chase, which is the bank holding the loan on the property. Justice acquired Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009. In 2014, Justice received a loan for Greenbrier from the bank backed by a promissory note for $142 million. That agreement made Chase the holder of the deed of trust.

Last month, Chase informed the governor the loan on Greenbrier had been sold to Beltway Capital. In a statement, Justice claimed that upon purchasing the loan, Beltway immediately declared it in default.

The Governor and JPMorgan have been working in good faith under a mutual agreement since 2021 and under that agreement the Governor’s debt to JPMorgan has been reduced to $9.4 million, according to a statement issued by the Justice family. “Performance and payments to JPMorgan have even been made as recent as the end of June of this year.”

MetroNews reported that the property being foreclosed on includes the Greenbrier Hotel and the parking lot, but because other firms own the golf course and tennis courts, those assets are not part of the foreclosure. However, the casino is in the hotel, meaning it’s part of the default proceedings.

Justice Claims Foreclosure Is Political Stunt

Greenbrier is the only traditional casino hotel in the state with the other three gaming venues classified as racinos — casinos combined with racetracks. The Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort is operated by Century Casinos (NASDAQ: CNTY).

Justice, a two-term governor who switched parties in 2017, called the foreclosure proceedings a “political stunt” and an attack on his business interests motivated by partisan gain.

“This deceitful move by JPMorgan is nothing more than the latest political stunt by the Democrats to undermine the next Republican Senator from West Virginia. In recent days, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s staunch ties to the Democrat party and his support for the Biden-Harris administration and continued control of the Senate by the Democrats have been well documented,” added the Justice family in the press release.

While Dimon has traditionally donated to Democrats, there has been speculation that if former President Trump reclaims the White House in November, he’d name the JPMorgan chief executive officer as Treasury Secretary.

Auction Could Affect Greenbrier Casino

Should the Justice family not find a workable solution to maintain control of the Greenbrier, it’s possible that the new owners make changes to the casino or potentially close that part of the property, putting it different use. That hasn’t been determined of yet. The public auction for the property will be held in Lewisburg on Aug. 27.

Greenbrier is also home to a FanDuel sportsbook and that operator was the first to offer mobile sports wagering in West Virginia.

Today, the state is home to a variety of online sportsbooks and is one of just six to permit iGaming.